Tropes Showdown

[anarfea]

So I was inspired byout_there to do the Tropes Showdown thing. I had to do it twice because the first time I think I said "no opinion" and "I like both" too much and it gave me really weird results, so the second time I was like "gun to my head pick one" unless I really really couldn't decide and then I got better results:

Rank	Name
1	Hurt/Comfort
1	A/B/O
3	Seemingly Unrequited Pining
3	Actually Unrequited Pining
3	Daemons
3	'Groundhog Day'/Karmic Time Loop
7	Fairy Tale/Mythology AU
7	They Break Up (but then They Get Back Together)
7	Enemies to Friends to Lovers
7	Fake Dating/Fake Marriage Accidentally Turns Into Feelings
7	Friends to Lovers
12	Royals/Political Marriage Turns Into Feelings
12	'Everyone is Evil'/Mirrorverse AU
12	Selfcest (possibly due to time travel)
15	Amnesia Fic
15	Pride and Prejudice AU
17	'Falling For A Coworker/Teammate Is A Bad Idea' Except This Is Fiction So It Works Out
17	Vampires/Werewolves AU
17	Supernatural Creature/Human Romance
20	Loyalty Kink
21	Found Families
22	Accidentally Fell In Love With The Mission Target
22	Snowed-In Cabin/Isolated Together For Extended Period of Time
24	Polyamory
24	Magical Connection (Telepathy, etc)
26	Reincarnation/'25 Lives' AU
27	Body Swapping
28	Characters Swap Roles AU (I don't mean in the bedroom)
28	And They Were Roommates!
30	Hogwarts AU
30	Hot Single Parent(s)
32	Adopting/Raising a Baby
32	Coffee House AU/Food Service AU
32	'They All Work In An Office' AU
32	High School/University AU
32	Unusually Specific Occupation AU, Like, The Author Clearly Has The Same Job
32	Soulmate Identifying Marks (Tattoo, Red Thread of Fate, etc)

I love both Hurt/Comfort and A/B/O and I hate soulmate AUs, baby-centric fics, and coffee shop Aus, so the top and bottom are right at least. I'm surprised "Groundhog Day/Karmic Time Loop" is ranked so high? Maybe it's because I recently read the Mystrade fic Time Slips and it's been on the brain. But if I ranked them manually I'd probably say more "normal" tropes like "fake dating" and "break up/make up" fics rank higher.

I find it amusing that "actually unrequited pining" and "seemingly unrequited pining" share the same rank, as do "friends to lovers" and "enemies to friends to lovers." I'm big fans of both.

Now if only there were one for kinks!

Comments

[anarfea]

For me unrequited pining is a very pairing dependent thing. Sherlock unrequitedly pining for John? Lol nope nope nope I'm not touching that with a ten foot pole. Mycroft unrequitedly pining for Sherlock? I'm there with bells on.

IMO there's just something beautiful and selfless about loving someone and being there for them unconditionally and not expecting anything in return. Molly's love for Sherlock I think comes to mind as being the classic Sherlock canon example (though of course whether you view it as ultimately unrequited depends on your interpretation of the "I love you" scene). I know Lou Brealey responded to some gross comments some fans made about Molly's love for Sherlock being "pathetic" with her statement that "Loving someone after years is not reductive, retrograde, antifeminist or weak." I always thought Molly's love for Sherlock was really beautiful and brave. She's there for him when he needs her, and she doesn't expect anything from him. But she's no doormat. She gets better at demanding that he respect her, and he does. Sorry I could gush about Molly and Sherlock's relationship for pages, but I won't, here.

And of course unrequited holmescest is almost as good as regular holmescest for me. Mycroft is just built for that kind of selfless love. I love fics where he pines after Sherlock and never ever tells him. I like fics where Sherlock is pining for Mycroft too, but Mycroft won't give in. There's something about the tension of desire for something you won't let yourself have that is just really delicious in and of itself. It hurts, but it's a really good kind of pain. Especially if the thing you're pining for is something you maybe should not have (as is the case with holmecest).

Anyway, I'm not trying to convince you to go read unrequited love fics if it's not your thing. I know you ranked them near the bottom of your list. Just trying to explain the appeal from someone who likes them a lot.

[out_there]

Mycroft is just built for that kind of selfless love.

I do agree with that. I can utterly believe that Mycroft has the self-control to be able to want something and refuse to act on it, knowing that it won't end well.

Just trying to explain the appeal from someone who likes them a lot.

You did a good job of it. It made me think about my own tastes and how my preferences for a happy ending in fic inform my choices on what I read.

[anarfea]

I guess I would say that I like for fics to have satisfying endings. What that is depends on the fic. I need for an ending to feel right, but sometimes a sad ending is the right ending.

I always wince a little when I'm writing a fic and someone messages me or posts a comment asking "does this fic have a happy ending?" because I'm not sure I entirely understand what people mean when they say that. I mean, there are certainly fics with unambiguously happy endings, where like the two leads end up together and all the conflicts of the story are resolved. I can certainly recognize that as a happy ending. But like, what about a fic where the main characters accomplish their goal but at great cost? What if some objectives are achieved but not others? I guess I write a lot of ambiguous and bittersweet endings, and they feel right and satisfying to me but I'm never sure how they will go over with someone who says they prefer happy endings. And I never know how to tag.